Larry A. Smail's Blog

     A beautiful morning indeed. After weeks of much rainy weather this morning was clear and dry and calm! I sounded off with a goose call and heard an answer. My step father, Bob Miller and I set up hoping the gobbler was not across a rural road behind an eight-foot enclosure.

Button buck

   I called sparingly hoping the big bird would fly to our side of the hill. he didn’t. he worked towards a trailer and two booms were heard. I had heard two distant gobbles and we headed in that direction when I heard hen talk. We paused and I correctly surmised the calling was human. We turned away and went several hundred yards when three shots from two different guns blasted away. We heard and saw a turkey flying away in the distance.

Bob and I crossed the road where we had parked and heard more hen talk followed by two blasts. We went high on the hill to check a field and heard two more shots over in the next hollow. I did see a hen in the field. Bob decided to leave the woods and travel to Ohio to mow the grass at his other home. I went to another place. I heard a hunter and avoided the area and was answered by a single gobble. I began a trek down over and up over the next hill when I heard a shot.

Morel

  I decided to hunt morels and work for turkeys next week! I found some morels..yum- yum! I saw several squirrels and six deer today too. I do not function in high-hunted pressure areas. I needed to leave early anyway for I was to meet my friend Slim Bowser to do a joint Civil war presentation.

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Commander Bowser & I

  Slim, dressed in Civil war era soldier clothing, and I visited the Worthington Library. This year is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Yes, that is only three 50 year life spans. Slim set up a display of Civil war items of interest. I set up my, yet uncompleted, painting of the Rose Wheatfield Battle of Gettysburg. I brought early sketches and such to discuss to those in attendance.

Slim did his talks basically, on the 62nd, Company D soldiers. Many of these soldiers had enlisted during the war from our area of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. The visitors throughly enjoyed the educational and informative talks.

Honorary Membership

  At the completion of our presentation, I was deeply honored to receive an honorary membership of the Company D, 62nd regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 5th Corps.

Sometime I wish to do a blog concerning my ancestors who fought in the Civil war. At least, six out of a family of 15 were in that war. Two died in  battle. My great Grandfather was wounded. One seems to have died from typhoid. Oh well, that is a story of the future.